About half of the companies surveyed said they have spent more than $1 million on SOA efforts. Also, CIOs and CTOs were the top sponsors of SOA projects, with 22 percent and 18 percent, respectively.

But SOA implementations are also facing significant resistance, according to the study. Forty percent of respondents said their efforts have been impeded due to difficulty in justifying SOA projects. More than half cited a lack of confidence among company officials that SOA would provide a big payoff.

The study was conducted by GCR Custom Research, which surveyed more than 150 people handling SOA projects in the U.S., Canada, United Kingdom, France and Germany, according to a BEA press release. The companies included some with more than $1 billion in annual sales.